The Israeli army said Saturday its troops were assisting UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights in repelling an attack "by armed individuals", while the foreign minister said "armed forces" had entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

The UN force, UNDOF, confirmed its personnel observed "unidentified armed individuals in the area of separation, including approximately 20 who went into one of the mission's positions in the northern part of the area of separation", a spokesperson for UN Peacekeeping told AFP.

"The inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times."

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said "an attack was carried out by armed individuals at a UN post in the Hader area in Syria," the army said in a statement, referring to a Syrian town on the edge of the buffer zone.

"The (Israeli army) is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack."

Late on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X: "During the last day, armed forces entered the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border with Israel. Among other things, attacks were carried out on the (peacekeepers) in the area".

He said Israel was "troubled by violations" of the 1974 armistice with Syria. "Israel does not intervene in the internal conflict in Syria," he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Syrian rebels took control of the provincial capital of Quneitra around 12 kilometres (eight miles) south of Hader, Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The long-stalemated Syrian civil war burst back into life late last month, with rebels sweeping across the country and capturing multiple major cities.

The military said army chief Herzi Halevi visited the Syrian border on Saturday. He too underlined that Israel was not intervening in Syria.

He said Israel's "primary focus is on observing Iran's movements and interests" while a "secondary focus" was on Syrian factions and "ensuring they do not mistakenly direct their actions towards us".

The military declined to comment on Saturday evening when asked if the attack was ongoing.

Israel conquered most of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed the territory in a move never recognised by the international community as a whole.

UNDOF has patrolled a buffer zone between the Israeli- and Syrian-controlled zones since 1974.

In August 2014, Islamist rebels attacked UNDOF and took more than 40 Fijian peacekeepers hostage, holding them captive for almost two weeks.

Source close to Hezbollah says group sent 2,000 fighters to Syria
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Dec 7, 2024 –

A source close to Lebanon's Hezbollah said Saturday the group sent 2,000 fighters into Syria near the border, as its ally Damascus reels from a rebel offensive that has seized major cities in recent days.

"Hezbollah sent 2,000 fighters to the Qusayr area… to defend its positions there and has not yet participated in any battles" with Syrian rebels, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The rebel coalition in Syria has already seized two of Syria's main cities, Aleppo in the north and Hama in the centre.

On Saturday, rebel forces were at the gates of the key central city of Homs.

The source said Hezbollah sent 150 military advisers to help government forces defend Homs if fighting erupts there.

Turkey's Erdogan says he hopes Syria 'finds peace'
Istanbul (AFP) Dec 7, 2024 –

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he hopes neighbouring Syria "finds peace", as rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad advance towards the capital, Damascus.

"Our wish is for our neighbour, Syria, to find the peace and tranquility it has been dreaming of for 13 years," said Erdogan, a key player in the region, adding that Syria "is tired of war, blood and tears".

Turkey, which has a long border with Syria, has become home to about three million Syrian refugees since the start of the civil war in 2011.

"Our Syrian brothers and sisters deserve freedom, security and peace in their homeland," Erdogan added, voicing hope "to see a Syria where different identities co-exist in peace".

"We hope to see such a Syria in the very near future," he said in a speech delivered in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, to which several hundred thousand Syrians fled.

The Turkish president was long a supporter of the resistance to Assad since the civil war erupted.

But in recent months Erdogan tried to reconcile with his Syrian counterpart — an olive branch he accused Assad of not grasping.

"There is now a new political and diplomatic reality in Syria," he told the crowd in Gaziantep, accusing Damascus of not having grasped "the hand extended by Turkey" through Russian mediation.

China says hopes Syria 'returns to stability as soon as possible'
Beijing (AFP) Dec 8, 2024 –

China's foreign ministry said Sunday it hopes Syria "returns to stability as soon as possible", after Islamist-led rebels announced they had taken Damascus and sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing.

Beijing "is closely following the development of the situation in Syria and hopes that Syria returns to stability as soon as possible", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Chinese government has actively assisted Chinese citizens who are willing to leave Syria in a safe and orderly way, and has maintained contact with… Chinese citizens who remain in Syria," the ministry said.

"We urge the relevant Syrian parties to take practical measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Syria," it added.

"At present, the Chinese embassy in Syria is still holding strong, and we will continue to provide full assistance to Chinese citizens in need."

While Russia and Iran have been Syria's closest backers in recent years, China's ties to the country have grown.

China is one of only a handful of countries outside the Middle East that Assad has visited since Syria's civil war began in 2011.

On that 2023 trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Assad announced a "strategic partnership" between their countries.

But with the rebel offensive sweeping through the country, the Chinese embassy in Damascus sent an urgent notice on Thursday advising its citizens to leave Syria "as soon as possible".